Mary Anne's Secret Friend
by Elizabeth8289
Summary: Lately, the Baby-Sitters Club's enemy, Marci, has been acting nice to Mary But there is one problem: Spier hates it when anyone hangs out with immature So, Mary Anne has been keeping Marci as a secret before she gets in
1. The Night Out at the Diner

I do not own the Baby-Sitters Club, Ann M. Martin does.

I was with Marci and our two friends, Kathi and Patti, at a diner for dinner around the corner. Kathi and I ordered a cheeseburger, Patti had chicken tenders, and Marci had a hamburger. We even shared a hot fudge sundae for a dessert. I'm Mary Anne Spier, by the way, and we're all thirteen years old and attend Stoneybrook Middle School, which is here in Stoneybrook, Connecticut, for eighth grade. I live with my father and my stepfamily. I grew up on Bradford Court. Dad and I lived alone after Mom died long time ago.

My stepmom, Sharon Schafer, used to be Dad's girlfriend in high school. She has two children, Dawn and Jeff, from her first husband. The kids were born and raised in California where her mother was for college. They all came here after a tough divorce. Jeff was miserable here and moved back to California not long before Sharon and Dad got married. Dawn's my stepsister and one of my best friends.

Marci used to be my worse enemy, but now, she started to be nice to me since we started rehearsing for Annie that we did. She played Pepper and I played Annie. Why? She thinks I was the one who changed her. Don't ask how I did that. But she loved my acting and singing skills. The only thing I never liked about her was she'd try to steal my boyfriend, Logan Bruno, and when she asked me to be her friend, I made her a deal: no more stealing Logan.

Except for one tiny problem, my dad forbids me and Dawn to hang out anyone who is too immature for us and I might get in trouble if he heard about it, so I had to keep Marci a secret for time being. After the diner, I headed home. Patti and Kathi are awesome, I asked them if I should use them without mentioning Marci in avoid trouble, they didn't mind that.

After dinner, we headed home. When I got back, I went to the diner to get comfy.

Dawn came by and said, "I hope you didn't forget to tell your dad that you weren't going to be home for dinner."

"Why would I forget to do that? He always knew. I always tell him the night before and I'd remind him at breakfast or when I call him," I told her.

Dad trusts me, so he doesn't ask me where I'd go for dinner or who I would be with since I'm usually with one of my friends.

"If he ever finds out you've been with M-a-r-c-i, he will never trust you again," said Dawn.

She's been driving me nuts! Marci invited me to spend the day with her tomorrow, but I told her I'd be with Dad for the entire day for a father-daughter, she understood.

"I'm going to be with Dad for a bit," I said.

I headed down to see Dad, who was in the den, when he looked up with a smile.

"What's up, honey?" asked Dad.

"Nothing much. I went to the diner with Kathi and Patti," I said. "We even shared a hot fudge sundae for a dessert."

"That's good," said Dad.

He had already met and approved them. Neither of them is immature. In the middle of the night, I was feeling nauseous, but I drank some water to make it go away, which it did. 2 1/2 hours later, I had that nausea feeling once again. Plus, I got a headache and started to feel dizzy. I also started coughing. What else is new? Uh-oh. I got up rushing to the bathroom and started vomiting.

Dad came in to comfort me and said, "It's okay, honey."

The next day, I felt worse. My headache was getting bad and was still feeling dizzy. Luckily, Dad and I aren't going out until later in the afternoon anyway.

"Girls, time to get up for school," said Sharon.

When I got up, I could hardly keep my balance straight. Luckily, I was able to go straight to the bathroom and started puking again.

"I should keep Mary Anne home from school. Excuse me," said Dad as he came in within two seconds later to comfort me. "It's okay, Mary Anne, I'm here. I'm letting you stay home from school today."

After that, I felt so dizzy that I could barely walk properly, so Dad had to help me out.

"How's your headache?" asked Dad.

"Worse. I'm still feeling dizzy as well," I said.

"I'll give you a bucket in case you need it. I'm off today, so I'll be home with you," said Dad.

"Thank god we're not leaving until later this afternoon," I said.

"We'll see how you feel first otherwise we have tonight and tomorrow night, okay?" asked Dad.

"Fine by me," I answered.

He did leave the bucket with me. That afternoon, I felt better enough to spend the day with Dad, which is a good thing because I needed fresh air.


	2. Dawn: Be Careful

Dad and I decided to go to the mall. It feels so good to be out to have fresh air. Honestly! At the mall, I spotted Cokie Mason at FYE. What else is new? She's my worst enemy ever. She's extremetly immature. It would be nice if she changes, too, so I could be her friend. But, forget it. I thought she'd change when we started Annie, but she would bug me by thinking I'd be too shy to memorize any of my lines and songs. Well, guess what: I proved her wrong. I've been doing excellent. Everyone enjoys me. We're starting the schools in New Haven this weekend. We'd be excused from school every Friday, so we'd be doing that after school every Thursday night. There are ten schools in that area since we'd be performing at all four colleges, three high schools, and the rest are grade schools. We'd be doing four of them first, we'll do the next four the following weekend, and the last three the weekend after. So, we'd be going back and fourth during those three weekends.

While I was at the movies section, Cokie came to be and said, "I bet you'd be homesick."

"Dream on. I won't be homesick. For one thing, I've been away from home before," I told her.

It's true. I spent two weeks in Camp Mowak and in Iowa when I first got reunited with my grandmother. So, how can she tell me I'd be homesick? Plus, I'd be having too fun while performing Annie. Cokie plays Duffy. She can be a bit off-key, so she might be fired from the show if she's still off-key this weekend.

I walked away to go over to the music section. I didn't let Cokie's words bother me since I know she's wrong. I'm not worried at all to be honest with you. Plus, Marci would be with me anyway. I might sit with her on the bus. The understudies would be coming along in case any of us could perform for any reasons so we wouldn't have to call them on the performance dates. Easier, right? I think so, too.

At Johnny Rockets, while Dad was on his cell out in the hall after we ordered, Marci, who was the other side, spotted me and came over to me.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" asked Marci as we giggled.

"I'm just here with Dad," I replied.

"And, I'm here with Patti. Kathi couldn't make it. She came down with a cold," said Marci. "She was out, too besides you."

"I was sick myself this morning, so I was kept home from school, but I got better in time to spend time with Dad," I said.

When she saw her meal arrived, she said, "See you tomorrow."

She went back to her table to have her meal. Dad had just got off the cell phone when our meal arrived. He didn't know Marci was with me for a bit, so I didn't say anything. After dinner, we went to the arcade. My secret is I _always _get more tickets than Dad. Honestly! Sometimes, we get ice cream before we head home. So, if we did want ice cream, we don't usually get any at Johnny Rockets. I don't eat ice cream twice anyway. But Dad does often. Could you imagine having two ice creams in one night? Not me.

Later, I did got more tickets than Dad. I had 1,500 tickets because of a jackpot one of the games and guess how many he had: just 40. I laughed at that. Poor Dad. I'd tease him everytime I win more tickets. So, he had to pay me for ice cream. He didn't care. We'd still have fun together. At home, I was in my nightgown and went to bed at ten, which is our bedtime on school nights.

The next day, at school, I already did my make-up work that I missed the day before. I was all set after that. I'm glad about that. At lunch, I was about to go join my friends when Marci spotted me, but I told her I was going to be with the other girls.

"Okay. You can always sit with me anytime you want," said Marci.

"Good idea," I agreed.

I'm surprised that she understood as I went over to sit with my friends.

"That was something," said Kristy who noticed that.

"Yeah. She actually understood, so she said I can always sit with her every other day," I said.

"That was a smart idea," commented Kristy.

"But what if your dad that you've been with Marci? He'd kill you," warned Stacey.

"No, he won't. He'd understand that Marci changed to a new person," I said.

"What if he won't believe you?" asked Claudia.

"He will. I can always prove it to him one day when I'm ready," I replied.

"What we're saying is we're worried about you being friends with Marci now," said Dawn.

"I'm not worried about it," Kristy spoke up.

"But our point is there could be a chance of Mary Anne getting hurt. We don't want that to happen," said Dawn.

"What makes you think that would happen?" I asked my sister. "Let me handle this on my own. I know what I'm doing."

"If that was one of us, you'd be worried, too," Stacey pointed out.

"Not if that immature person becomes to be a nice one," I told her. "Popular girls can be nice, too."

"Just be careful," said Dawn.

After school, most of my friends, except Kristy, aren't talking to me since they think I'm not listening to their advices. At least Kristy believes me. That's what I like her as my best friend. My other friends should believe me, too. Why can't they trust me and Marci to be friends? Luckily, the only ones who didn't know about this is Jessi and Mallory who are both sixth graders. I bet neither of them would believe the other girls about me and Marci. They're good friends.


	3. Mary Anne's Horrible Day

When I got home from a horrible day, I figured I'd do my homework outdoors in the hammock since it's a nice day out. Worst of all, Logan cheated on me by being with Cokie. I learned that by Kristy who spotted them. Boy, did she flip out on him! He didn't know anything about me and Marci. Thank god!

That was when Dad came home from work. I didn't even notice until he came out. When I saw a shadow, I noticed him. He always seemed to do that!

"Oh, hi," I said.

"Hi, honey," smiled Dad.

"I decided to do homework out here on the hammock for a change," I said.

"Did something happened today? You look a little stressed," said Dad.

"Kristy spotted Logan with Cokie after school," I said. "I was mad when she told me. I'm glad she did."

"You must of got heartbroken," said Dad.

"You got that right. I was heartbroken and angry at the same time," I replied.

"I bet," said Dad.

After I did my homework, I put went inside to put it in my backpack. I could still feel my heartbreaking a bit. I went back out to the hammock an hour later. Dad knew where I was since he knew I was still heartbroken. He came out to join me.

"Are you still heartbroken?" asked Dad as I nodded. "It'll be okay."

"I still couldn't believe what Logan did to me," I said with tears rolling down my cheeks while Dad was stroking my hair.

"I know, honey," said Dad

I sat up and hugged him while I started sobbing. That night, at dinnertime, I didn't eat much because I was still upset about Logan.

"Are you okay? You didn't eat too much tonight," said Dad.

"I'm still a bit upset about what Logan did," I replied.

"I bet," said Dad.

"May I please leave the table?" I asked.

"Yes, of course," smiled Dad.

I got up and headed up to my room.

"Is she okay?" asked Sharon.

"Logan cheated on her after school. Kristy saw him with Cokie," replied Dad.

"That's terrible to hear," said my stepmother.

"I know. She's been heartbroken ever since," said Dad.

After dinner, I wasn't in a good mood enough to help Dawn to clean the kitchen. I told that to Dad, who didn't mind all, but Dawn got jealous.

"If Mary Anne is not in a mood to do stuff, don't expect her to help out," said Dad.

"I'll help you out, Dawn, it's no big deal," said Sharon.

That's what she did. She finally managed to make Dawn understand since I've been heartbroken.

"I'd give her a few days so she can recover her broken heart before she can help you out again," said my stepmother. "If that was you, she'd do the same without complaining."

In the meantime, Dad decided to come up to see how I was doing.

"Mary Anne, honey," said Dad as he came in while I was on the windowseat facing the other way.

When he sat with me, he noticed I was crying again while he was stroking my hair.

"It'll be alright now," said Dad.

He got me as he had me on him while putting my arms around him. When I noticed, I hugged him tightly while I was still sobbing. He was still stroking my hair. In the middle of the night, I couldn't sleep at all because of what Logan did. I got out of bed and went to go sit on the windowseat. At least continue to be on _Annie _would keep me busy.

Dad probably knew I was up because when he came in before he went to bed, he noticed I was on the windowseat and went to be with me.

"It's late, you should be in bed. Is everything okay?" asked Dad.

"I couldn't sleep," I replied. "I'm still hurt about earlier."

"I know, sweetie," said Dad comforting me.

Two hours later, I was tossing and turning in bed while moaning.

"No, no. No, no," I was calling out.

Not only I was dreaming about earlier, but also what might happen if I keep Marci as a secret friend longer. Dad would probably have me live on the streets. That's what I was dreaming as well.

"No, no, No, no," I continued.

"Mary Anne," said Dad as he came in and sat with me. "Honey, it's okay."

"No, no. No, no," I kept on.

"Mary Anne, sweetheart," said Dad as I woke up. "You were having a nightmare."

I was shaking.

"Was it about from earlier?" asked Dad as I nodded.

I didn't want to talk about the other part of the dream in case he wants to know about me and Marci. The next day, at school, my other friends are after me to tell Dad about Marci.

"Let me tell Dad when I'm ready to do so. Let me tell him on my own," I said.

At least Kristy supports me so did Mallory and Jessi who knew that Marci changed. At lunch, Kristy convinced the other girls to trust me with Marci. How? Don't ask me. She also told them to give me more time to tell Dad about me and Marci. I'm lucky to have Kristy as my best friend. Apparently, that didn't work because Kristy and I learned they started bugging me again!

"Here we go again," said Kristy.

"Just tell your father before you could get in big trouble," said Dawn.

"When I'm ready. Maybe one weekend when Dad comes to the play the other two weekends that's all. Be patient. He won't get mad if he learned that Marci started being nice to me," I said.

"But if you didn't tell him, he will get mad and will never trust you again," warned Dawn.

"Just leave me alone," I said as I got up to go join Marci.


	4. Mary Anne Gets Ready for the Trip

Thank god I came home from another horrible day! I was doing homework and decided to forget about it. I found out Logan wants nothing to do with me just because I'm become friends with Marci. You know what I told him: grow up and get over it. Sorry to say, but he can be a drama king sometimes.

At dinner, I didn't eat much again and without a word, I left the table to my table.

"I bet her heart's still broken," said Dad.

"But she didn't ask if she could leave the table like she normally does," said Dawn.

"Can't you tell that she's still upset right now?" asked Dad.

After dinner, Dad came up to see me. I was weeping at the time and he sat with me to comfort me.

"It'll be okay, sweetie," said Dad.

"I can't wait to do the _Annie _play over the weekend so I can forget about the brokenheart," I said wiping my tears.

"I know," said Dad comforting me.

I had my head buried near his shoulder while I was hugging him tightly. I still didn't feel like to clean the kitchen with Dawn, so she ended up doing it alone with Sharon taking my place. At least Dawn was letting me to recover first. That's a good thing, right? The next day, I told Logan off: If I want to be with Marci since she's starting to be nice to me, that's my business, not his. That got him to understand and apologized to me.

"You better not cheat on me again. You can not dump me for no reason just because I'm with Marci," I said.

After school, I told Dad that I made Logan apologize to me and he was glad that I did. Even Carlos was glad for that. In case you're wondering who he is, he's my adopted brother. He was eight when he lost his entire family. He loves being the part of my family. Carlos doesn't know that I'm with Marci because Dad was with us and if I accidently mentioned it, he might not trust me anymore. I don't know that if might be true.

On Wednesday, I was packing since the Annie cast members would be leaving after school. Dad's starting his vacation tomorrow, so he'll be coming along to see me perform. Will he see how Marci changed? We'll see what happens, right? Who knows? I could feel butterfles in my stomach about that, but I'm not worried about that at all. Later, I was practicing all my lines once because I felt ready after that. All I did was watch the _Annie _movie verison I was in to help me out.


	5. The Annie Cast Members in New Haven

The next day, after school, I went to my locker to get my suitcase and school stuff as I headed down to the auditorium. The other girls were there already to save me a spot. I heard Cokie got kicked out, so this time, Dawn had a phone call saying she would take Cokie's place for now on. Boy, Dawn was like, _it's about time I got the part_. Isn't that kinda rude or something? She won't find it funny if _she_ gets thrown out if Mr. Jackson heard that.

At 2:50pm, we loaded up the Kelly Transit Bus and we got in there to take our seats. Kristy grabbed a spot next to me. Marci was able to sit behind me. Kathi was with us in case if she needs to fill in for me if I get sick or something. The understudies always come along anyway. The next understudy for an older orphan is Patti. Kathi was next to Marci with Patti across in the next aisle.

"This is going to be very exciting and a fun weekend," said Kristy.

"I know," I said.

Once everyone got on board including Dad, the bus started going and we were on our way to New Haven. We were there an hour later and went to New Haven Premiere Hotel and Suites where Mr. Jackson reserved for all three weekends. Marci wanted to share a hotel room, but when I learned that Dad is going to share my hotel room, I told her it's better off if she doesn't yet. She knew what I meant and she agreed. An hour later, we were going to have an early dinner so we can get ready. We were going to get ready at the suite since we'd be using this ballroom to have our hair and make up done. We'd be getting into our costumes in our hotel rooms. The play starts at 7:00pm tonight through Saturday and 2:00pm on Sunday.

We were having a buffet. I was in the soup and salad bar with Marci who was planning to sit with me, so I'll be joining Kathi and Patti. I was getting Chili with cheese. I like Chili every now and then. It's so good. Then, I went over to grab a spot next to Kathi. Marci came over.

"Figures, you took my spot," said Marci.

"I guess it has your name on it," I teased as we laughed.

After we had our buffet dinner, we went to out hotel rooms to get our costumes on. I'm surprised Dad didn't seem to notice I was with Marci. After we all got ready, we started going to Albertus Magnus College. When we got there, we went backstage since it was only 6:50pm. Good timing, huh? Ten minutes later, the play was about to begin with an overtune. Then, the curtain went up while the audience applauded.

"Mama! Mama! Mommy!" Mallory called out.

"Shut up," said Marci.

"Can't anyone get any sleep around here?" asked Dawn.

"Mama! Mommy!" continued Mallory.

"I said shut your trap, Molly," said Marci pushing Mallory off the bed.

"Don't push that poor kid. She did nothing to you," said Claudia.

"She's keeping me awake, ain't she?" asked Marci.

"No, you're keeping us awake," replied Claudia.

"Wanna make something out of it, July?" asked Marci.

They started fighting.

"Oh, my goodness. They're fighting," said Jessi.

I came from the curtain.

"Pipe down! All of you! Go back to sleep!" I told them as I went to Mallory. "It's alright, Molly, Annie's here."

"It was my mama, Annie. We were riding on the ferry boat. She was holding me up to see all the big boats. And then, she just walked away waving and I couldn't find her anymore," said Mallory.

"It's only a dream, honey, you have to go back to sleep now. It's after three o'clock," I said.

"Annie, read me your note," said Mallory.

"My note? Again?" I asked.

"Please?" asked Mallory.

"Sure, Molly," I said taking the note out.

"Here it comes! Ahh!" shouted Marci as everyone laughed.

"Please take good care of our little darling. Her name is Annie. She was born on...," I started.

"She was born on October 28th. We'll be back to get her soon," said Dawn.

"We have left a half-silver locket around her neck and kept the other half," said Dawn and Marci.

"So that when we come back for her, you will know that she's our baby," said the rest except for Mal and Jessi as they were laughing.

"Oh, my goodness! Now they're laughing," said Jessi.

"Alright," I said going to Marci angrily. "Do you wanna sleep with your teeth inside your mouth or out?"

They laughed as I headed back to Mallory.

"Gee, Annie, you're lucky. I wish I'd have my parents again, but you really got them," said Mallory.

"I know. Somewhere," I said as the song started. "Maybe far away or maybe real nearby. He may be pouring her coffee. She may be straightening his tie. Maybe in a house, all hidden by a hill. She's sitting playing piano. He's sitting paying a bill. Betcha they're young, betcha they're smart. Bet they collect things like ashtrays and art. Betcha they're good. Why shouldn't they be? Their one mistake was giving up me. So, maybe now it's time and maybe when I wake. They'll be calling me baby. Maybe."

The song continued as I put Mallory in bed and sat on her side of the bed.

"Betcha he reads, betcha she sews. Maybe she's made me a closet of clothes. Maybe they're strict as straight as a line. Don't really care as long as they're mine. So, maybe now this prayer's the last one of its kind. Won't you please come get your baby?" I sang as I laid in bed. "Maybe."

The song ended as the audience applauded. The clock chimed for four am. Mary Anne gets up, looks out the window, and went to under the bed to pack a bag.

"Now what?" asked Marci.

"Annie, what are you doing?" asked Kristy.

"I'm running away," I replied.

"Oh, my goodness," said Jessi.

"My parents aren't coming back for me, so I'm going to find them," I said.

"Annie, you're nuts. Miss Hannigan will catch you," warned Claudia.

"And hit you with the paddle," added Jessi.

"I don't care. I'm getting out of here. Okay, I'm ready. Wish me luck," I said.

"Good luck, Annie," said the others.

"Good luck, Dumbbell," said Marci.

I was trying to get out when Mrs. Boyd, playing Miss Hannigan, came.

"Ahh. I caught you! I hear you. I always hear you. Bend over," said Mrs. Boyd as she stood still. "I said bend over."

I did as Mrs. Boyd hits me with the paddle.

"Now what do you say?" asked Mrs. Boyd as I remained silent. "What you do say?"

"I love you, Miss Hannigan," I replied.

"Rotten orphan," said Mrs. Boyd.

"I'm not an orphan. My folks left me with a note saying they love me and they'd come back for me," I said.

"That was 1922. This is 1933. Get up, everyone!" said Mrs. Boyd. "Annie was trying to escape again. You're all going to strip the beds for the laundry man."

"But it's four o'clock in the morning," said Jessi.

"Oh, I know. Then you'll get down on your knees and clean this dump until it shines like the top of the Chrysler Building," said Mrs. Boyd.

"Yes, Miss Hannigan," said the rest.

"Get to work. Now," said Mrs. Boyd. "Why a kid wants to be an orphan? I'll never know."

The audience laughed as the song started.

"It's the hard-knock life for us, it's the hard-knock life for us," we sang.

"Instead of treated," I sang.

"We get tricked," we sang.

"Instead of kisses," I sang.

"We get kicked. It's the hard-knock life," we sang. "We got no folks to speak of, so it's the hard-knock role we hoe."

"Cotton blankets," I sang.

"Instead of wool," we sang.

"Empty bellies," I sang.

"Instead of full, it's the hard-knock life," we sang.

"Don't it feel like the wind is always howling?" I sang.

"Don't it seem there's never any light?" sang Claudia and Kristy.

"Once a day, don't you wanna throw the towel in?" sang Mallory and Jessi.

"It's easier than putting up a fight," sang Marci and Dawn.

"No one's there when your dreams at night get creepy, no one cares if you grow or if you shrink, no one dries your eyes when they get weepy," I sang.

"From the crying you think this place's sink. Oh!" we sang. "Empty-bellies life, rotten-smelly life, full-of-sorrow life, no-tomorrow life."

"Santa Claus we never see," sang Mallory.

"Santa Claus, what's that? Who's he?" I sang.

"No one cares for you a smidge when you're in the orphanage," we sang.

"You'll stay up till this dump shines like the top of the Chrysler Building," said Mallory pretending to be Miss Hannigan.

"Yank the whiskers from her chin. Jab her with a safety pin. Make her drink a mickey finn," they sang. "I love you, Miss Hannigan."

"Get to work now! Strip the beds! I said get to work!" said Mallory.

"It's the hard-knock life for us, it's the hard-knock life for us. No one cares for you a smidge when you're in an orphanage. It's the hard-knock life, it's the hard-knock life, it's...the...hard-knock...life!" we sang as the song ended.

They applauded.

Then Mrs. Boyd came and blew the whistle.

"Good morning, children," said Mrs. Boyd.

"Good morning, Miss Hannigan," we said.

"Well?" asked Mrs. Boyd.

"We love you, Miss Hannigan," we said.

"We love you, Miss Hannigan," said Mallory from the laundry basket as the audience laughed.

Mrs. Boyd went there and said, "What are you doing in there?"

"Nothing," said Mallory.

"Get her out of there. Your days are numbered," said Mrs. Boyd.

Mr. Lohan as Mr. Bundles arrives and said, "Laundry man. Good morning, kids."

"Morning, Mr. Bundles," we said.

"I got clean sheets every month," said Mr. Lohan.

Mary Anne and the orphans got them. While Mr. Lohan was chatting with Mrs. Boyd, Mary Anne climbed into the laundry basket lying in it while the girls covered her. They finished in time and Mr. Lohan left.

"You call this clean, Annie? This is still messy," said Mrs. Boyd with no respond. "Annie? Annie?"

"Annie ain't here," the orphans chorused.

"What do you mean Annie ain't here?" asked Mrs. Boyd.

"She just left with Mr. Bundles," said Kristy.

"In the laundry basket," added Marci.

"Mr. Bundles! Help, police!" exclaimed Mrs. Boyd leaving the stage while they were laughing.

They did the reprise of _It's The Hard-Knock Life_. The scene changed to outside while I was walking.

"Apples for sell, apples for sell," said Mrs. Young. "Care to have one, miss?"

"Yes, please. Thank you, ma'am," I said as I sat down.

"Have you seen any strays around here?" asked Mr. Gomes.

"No, sir," I answered as he left.

Then I spotted a dog.

"Hey, here's one they didn't get. Come here, boy," I said as he came to lay with me. "Aww, did they hurt you? They're after you, ain't they? They're after me, too. But don't worry I won't let them get me or you. Everything will be fine for the both for us. If not today, well."

The song started.

"The sun'll come out tomorrow bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there'll be sun. Just thinking about tomorrow clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow till there's none. When I'm stuck with a day that's day and lonely, I just stick out my chin and grin and say, oh. The sun'll come out tomorrow so you gotta hang on till tomorrow. Come what may. Tomorrow, tomorrow I love ya tomorrow you're always a day away," I sang as the song paused.

"Hey, you! Little girl. Come here," said Mr. Lins.

I went to him and said, "Yes, officer?"

"That dog there. Haven't I seen him around here before? Isn't he a stray?" asked Mr. Lins.

"A stray? Oh, no, officer, he's my dog," I replied.

"Your dog, huh? So, what's his name?" asked Mr. Lins.

"His name? Oh, his name is, um, Sandy. Yes, that's right, Sandy. I call him Sandy because see, his fur is a nice, sandy color," I said.

"Sandy color, alright. Let's see if Sandy answers to his name," said Mr. Lins.

"Answer? You mean when I call him?" I asked.

"Right. When you call him by his name, Sandy," said Mr. Lins.

"Well, you see, officer, I just got him," I said.

"Call him," said the officer.

"Okay," I said going to the center of the stage to kneel down. "Sandy. Here, Sandy. Here, boy."

Rocky came to me.

"Good Sandy. Good old Sandy," I said.

"Maybe he is your dog. But the next time you take him out, I want to see him with the leash and the license otherwise he goes to the pound and they'll put him to sleep. Do you understand?" asked Mr. Lins.

"Yes, sir, I understand with the leash and license," I said.

"Now get on before you catch a cold in this weather," said Mr. Lins.

"Oh, I don't mind the weather," I said as the song started up. "When I'm stuck with a day that's gray and lonely, I just stick out my chin and grin and say... oh! The sun'll come out tomorrow so you gotta hang on til tomorrow. Come what may! Tomorrow, tomorrow I love ya tomorrow you're always a day away. Tomorrow, tomorrow I love ya tomorrow you're always a day... away!"

The song ended as everyone applauded.

Later, Mr. Lins and I were at the White House. They were having a meeting about what they can do to help.

"The sun'll come out tomorrow bet your bottom that dollar there'll be sun," I sang.

"Quiet, little girl," said Mr. Tillis.

"No, Harold. Go ahead, Annie, it's still a free country," said Mr. Gomes.

The song began as I stood on the table.

"Just thinking about tomorrow clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow til there's none. When I'm stuck with a day that's gray and lonely, I just stick out my chin and grin and say...oh. The sun'll come out tomorrow so you gotta hang on til tomorrow. Come what may. Tomorrow, tomorrow I love ya tomorrow you're always a day away," I sang.

"Go ahead, Harold, sing," said Mr. Gomes.

"What?" asked Mr. Tillis.

"Sing," said Mr. Gomes.

"The sun'll come out tomorrow bet your bottom that dollar there'll be sun," sang Mr. Tillis.

"Ikes," said Mr. Gomes.

"Just thinkin' about tomorrow," sang Mrs. Young.

"Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow til there's none," sang Mr. Tillis and Mrs. Young.

"The solo for the president," said Mr. Gomes. "When I'm stuck with a day that's gray and lonely, I just stick out my chin and grin and say... everyone, you, too, Oliver, sing."

"The sun'll come out tomorrow so you gotta hang on til tomorrow. Come what may! Tomorrow, tomorrow I love ya tomorrow you're always a day away. Tomorrow, tomorrow I love ya tomorrow you're always a day... away!" We all sang as the song ended while the audience applauded.

"Oliver, you have a telegram from Grace saying 800 couples are at the mansion and said to get back right away," said Mr. Gomes.

"Oh, goody," I said.

"Let's go, Annie," said Mr. Lins.

"Okay. Thank you. It was nice meeting you, President Roosevelt," I said.

"Same here. I'll be seeing you tomorrow anyway," said Mr. Gomes.

They left as the scene changed to the mansion. Mr. Lins and I returned from the White House going to Mrs. Bleechers.

"Where are my folks? Are they here?" I asked.

"I interviewed all of 800 couples and no one knew about the locket," said Mrs. Bleechers.

"Oh," I said.

Mr. Linders as Drake came with the telegram and said, "You got a teleman from the FBI."

"That's about Annie's locket," said Mr. Lins taking it to read. "_Between __1918 and 1924, thousands of Annie's lockets were made and sold._ FBI said it's impossible to trace your parents through it."

Mr. Lins puts the locket back on me.

"Oh," I said going to sit.

"I'm very sorry," said Mr. Lins.

"I guess the kids can do okay without parents," I said.

Mr. Lins sang _Something Was Missing_.

"Grace?" asked Mr. Lins.

"Yes, sir?" asked Mrs. Bleechers.

"Where are the adoption papers?" asked Mr. Lins as he came to me. "Annie, I want to adopt you."

"Adopt me?" I asked.

"Yes. What's your answer?" asked Mr. Lins.

"Well, if I can't have my real mom and dad, I would truly love if you were my father, Mr. Warbucks," I said as we hugged.

They talked about the party.

"Annie, I'm the luckiest man in the world," said Mr. Lins.

"And I'm the luckiest kid," I said.

We did _I Don't Need Anything But You_. Judge Brandeis was about to start to sign adoption papers when Mr. Linders came by.

"Excuse me, sir, before you start. May I present the Mudges," said Mr. Linders.

Ms. Rosenburg and Mr. Lee came in as the Mudges.

"There is our Annie," said Mr. Lee.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Honey, we're your parents," replied Ms. Rosenburg.

"We're Ralph and Shirley Mudge," said Mr. Lee.

"Annie Mudge?" asked Mr. Lins.

"We loved you very much, but we had to leave you behind. We were offered a job on a farm in Canada," explained Ms. Rosenburg.

"We interview about 800 couples and...," Mrs. Bleechers started.

"I'm assuming you want to see our IDs. Here's our driver's licenses and uh, Annie's birth certificate," said Mr. Lee as he gives them to Mrs. Bleechers going to Mr. Lins.

"_Ann Elizabeth Mudge born in New York City on October 28, 1922_," read Mr. Lins.

"Hey, that's my birthday," I said.

"And there is one more thing," said Mrs. Bleechers.

"Look, Ralph, she's wearing the locket!" exclaimed Ms. Rosenburg.

"See, when we left Annie at the orphanage, we left her with the half-sliver locket and kept the other half. When we went to the orphanage, a kind lady told us Annie was here," said Mr. Lee as he took out a piece of a locket and it fits just right. "See? Perfect fit."

"I'm glad we found our little girl," said Ms. Rosenburg.

"Mr. Mudge, what about the money?" asked Mr. Lins.

"What money?" asked Mr. Lee.

"Mr. Warbucks was offering $50,000 to the couples who can prove that they're Annie's folks," said Mrs. Bleechers.

"I didn't hear that. Plus, we don't need money," said Mr. Lee.

"On the other hand, we can afford to bring Annie up right with the reward money," said Ms. Rosenburg.

"Mind if Annie stays here until tomorrow so she can spend Christmas with us? So, you can pick her up along with the check," said Mr. Lins.

"Well, alright, it's fine by us, sir," said Mr. Lee.

"Bye, Annie, dear," said Ms. Rosenburg.

"Until tomorrow morning, and then you would be living with us for good," said Mr. Lee as they left when he bumped into Mrs. Bleechers. "Sorry, ma'am."

I looked up at Mr. Lins and said, "This is wonderful news. Let's go share with it with the guests."

I went to the center of the stage with my head down and looked up while I was looking pale.

"Drake, champagne," said Mr. Lins.

"Of course, sir," said Mr. Linders.

"We should celebrate. We just got good news tonight. Annie has found her parents. I propose a toast," said Mr. Lins raising I looked up. "Here's to Annie Mudge."

"To Annie Mudge," said the rest.

I looked again and took off to upstairs while Mrs. Bleechers follows me halfway.

"Annie," said Mrs. Bleechers to Mr. Lins. "Sir, I'm sure I've seen that Mr. Mudge before, but I'm not sure where and he's not who he says."

"We'll not give her until we are certain they're not her real mom and dad," said Mr. Lins. "I'll go straight to the top to the President of the United States."

The scene changed to Christmas morning as I came down with the suitcase while wearing the blue dress with a yellow bow and sat on the steps as the song started.

"Silly to cry. Nothing to fear. Betcha where they lived is nice as right here. Betcha my life is gonna be swell. Just looking at them, it's easy to tell. And maybe I'll forget how nice he was to me and how I was almost his baby. Maybe," I sang as the song ended.

Mr. Lins and Mrs. Bleechers came noticing me.

"Merry Christmas, Annie," said Mr. Lins and Mrs. Bleechers.

"Merry Christmas," I said.

"You're up early," said Mr. Lins as he and Mrs. Bleechers sat beside me.

"My parents are coming from New Jersey," I said. "You're up early, too."

"We've been up all night with the president," said Mr. Lins.

"You mean he's here?" I asked.

"Yes," said Mr. Lins.

Then Mr. Lee and Ms. Rosenburg came.

"Hello, Annie, Merry Christmas," said Mr. Lee.

"Here's for the check of $50,000," said Mrs. Bleechers.

When they got that, it read, "The jig is up."

I got puzzled. Then Mr. Gomes came out.

"Well, it's the Mudges. We learned that those were the pen names of Daniel Hannigan known as Rooster & Danny the Dip and Lily St. Regis," said Mr. Gomes.

That was when Mrs. Boyd came with us orphans.

"Merry Christmas," said Mrs. Boyd.

"Merry Christmas," I said going to them.

"Well, it's Agatha Hannigan known as Aggie," said Mr. Gomes.

"She helped us out," said Mr. Lee.

"What?" I asked.

"So, you're just pretending to be Annie's parents for the reward money?" asked Mrs. Bleechers.

"Uh, Annie, save me," said Mrs. Boyd going to me. "Tell these people I've been good to you."

"I wish I could, Miss Hannigan, but except for one thing, you always taught me never tell a lie," I said.

"Your days are numbered," Mallory mocking Mrs. Boyd.

The FBI took Mr. Lee, Mrs. Boyd, and Ms. Rosenburg away. I went to them.

"Miss Hannigan is gone for good," I said.

"And Annie, I have some news for you. The FBI was able to trace the handwriting from your note," said Mr. Gomes as I turned to him. "And your parents are David and Maragret Bennett."

"The Bennetts are my real mom and dad?" I asked as he nodded. "Where are they?"

"Annie," said Mr. Lins as I turned to him. "They passed away a long time ago."

"You mean they're in heaven?" I asked.

"Yes, dear, I'm afraid so," replied Mr. Gomes.

"So, I'm an orphan after all," I said as I had me head down walking towards to the center.

"Annie, are you alright?" asked Mrs. Bleechers walking halfway while I stopped.

"Yeah. I think so," I said as I turned. "See, I always my folks loved me and they'd come back for me if they were alive."

"Would you still like to be Annie Bennett Warbucks?" asked Mr. Lins.

"I still like that very much," I smiled.

"I love you," said Mr. Lins.

"And I love you more, Daddy Warbucks," I said as we hugged.

I introduced the orphans to Mr. Lins and everyone else. Then we sang _A New Deal For Christmas_. That was the end of the play and we all bowed as everyone clapped. We went out as I went over to Dad.

"You were wonderful, honey," said Dad.

"Thanks, Dad," I said.

Everyone took pictures with me and my friends as a group. Even a woman had taken pictures with me and her two kids who love Annie. They were all interested in me. I love being the star. After we had pictures taken and autographs, we went back to the hotel.

"I wish I could do this for life," I said as we laughed.

"I know," said Kristy.


	6. Mary Anne Saves Marci

At the hotel, I was going back to the room after changing back in my regular clothes when I noticed Dawn started a fight with Marci.

"Dawn," I said as I went there and got her off from Marci. "Knock it off. This is a hotel."

I noticed Marci was on the floor as I helped her up.

"Did you want to be suspended from the play?" I asked as I took off with Marci. "Are you alright now?"

"I think she injured my arm. I can't even move it!" exclaimed Marci.

"Let's go back to your hotel room and I'll go get Mr. Jackson. Would you like me to tell him where your room is or does he know where it is?" I asked.

"He knows where it is," replied Marci.

"Okay," I said as I took off to get Mr. Jackson.

I couldn't see where he was. That was when I noticed Dad with Mr. Jackson in the lobby. I went over to them.

"Look who's over here," said Dad who spotted me.

"I just need Mr. Jackson real quick," I said.

"What's up?" asked Mr. Jackson.

"Marci and Dawn got in a fight and Marci can't move her arm," I said.

"Where is Marci?" asked Mr. Jackson.

"She's back in her room. She told me to come get you. I was going back to the hotel room when I spotted Dawn started a fight with Marci. I just stopped it," I said.

"Good job, especially in a hotel," said the director.

"Wait until I have a talk with Dawn and she's going to be punished," said Dad.

"And I'm going to kick her out from the play for the rest of the weekend," said Mr. Jackson.

"But what's going to happen with Marci if she injured her arm?" I asked.

"That's true. I'll give Dawn a warning by saying if she ever gets into a fight again, she will be banned from the play for awhile and Patti can take Marci's place for now," said Mr. Jackson as he went off for Marci.

"Good thing you stopped the fight," said Dad.

"I know. Dawn was the one who started it," I said. "Marci didn't do anything to Dawn."

Ten minutes later, Mr. Jackson came down with Marci who was holding onto her arm in pain.

"Can you stay with her so I can call a doctor?" asked Mr. Jackson.

"Sure," I replied.

I sat with Marci.

"Mr. Jackson might have to let Patti to take your place for time being," I said.

"That would be a good idea," said Marci.

Mr. Jackson came back and said, "A doctor is coming now, so you girls can stay in the lobby until after the doctor leaves."

"Okay," I said.

Before the doctor arrived, the pain from Marci's arm had gotten worse. I managed to keep her calm. That was when the doctor came. Her arm was sprained, but she could still move her arm in a cast, so the doctor told her that she still could perform.

"Good," said Marci.

"We can let Mr. Jackson know after this," I said.

"If you feel you might want to relax before and after show, that's fine by me," said the doctor.

"Okay," said Marci. "I should be alright."

"You'll be on the cast for at least three to four weeks," said the doctor.

"Okay. We'll be here for the weekends for different schools anyway," I told him.

That was when the doctor leaves. But we stayed in the lobby for awhile.

"Are you sure you'd be alright to perform?" I asked.

"I'm positive," replied Marci.

"Just want to make sure," I said.

"That's okay. Thanks for stopping Dawn. I didn't do anything wrong to her," said Marci who was trying not to cry.

"I know, you've been trying to be nice to her. You would told her off if she would try to be rude," I said.

"True," said Marci.

"I can't wait to perform again tomorrow," I said.

"Me either," said Marci. "At least I would forget about _every_thing about what happened."

"Exactly," I said as we giggled softly.

"Mind if we go to my hotel room for a bit?" asked Marci.

"I don't mind at all," I smiled.

"Let's go," said Marci. "But first, let's get a soda or something."

"Lead the way," I joked as we giggled again.

We went to the snack bar and we both ordered Dr. Pepper. I like it every now and then. After that, we did went off to Marci's room for awhile. I went back to mine after ten minutes. I found out Dawn gave Mr. Jackson a hard time and was sent back home and now, Patti will be Duffy permanently. And yes, Dawn got grounded for a month and Dad had to call Sharon to let her know about it.

I had already told Mr. Jackson about what the doctor said about able to perform today, tomorrow, Sunday, and the four other weekends. Mr. Jackson was glad to hear that. The next day, Dawn must have told Dad about me and Marci, but luckily, Dad didn't care because he knew she started to be nice to me now. He didn't care how long we've been together.

"I'm just surprised you didn't tell me though," said Dad.

"I was planning to tell you, but I wasn't sure you would still improve it," I said.

"I still would since I knew how much Marci changed to be nicer to you," said Dad.

"It would be nice that Cokie could do the same, but I gave up trying to be nice to her and ignore her," I said.


	7. The Trust

On Sunday, at home, I went to Dawn and said, "Why did you tell Dad about me and Marci? I was going to do that on my own. You're lucky he didn't get mad at all. He still would improve about me and Marci being friends."

"He would?" asked Dawn.

"Yes. He knew that she changed to be a nice person," I told her.

"You still should've told him in the first place," said Dawn.

Is that supposed to make me feel better?

"It wouldn't matter. He still would know about that," I said as I left the room before she could start an argument, which I hate.

"Don't turn your back on me," said Dawn.

Too late. I went outside to the hammock for awhile. I was starting to get headache from her. That night, Dawn finally understood. Why? Dad told the same thing I told her.

"You need to understand that Marci wants to be friends with Mary Anne. She knows what she's doing. I don't mind about that at all. I also understood why Mary Anne didn't tell me right away she wasn't sure if I would impove or not. Plus, she isn't sure how long the friendship would last. So, far, it's been doing good," said Dad.

"I thought you and Mom don't like us being with any immature kids," said Dawn. "That's one thing I don't understand."

"Depends if that person is still immature. That's another story," said Dad.

"But what Mary Anne didn't realize is that I was watching out for her. I didn't want her to get hurt, Richard," said my sister.

"Nothing's going to happen. Can't you just relax?" I asked since I heard everything.

"I agree with Mary Anne," said Dad.

The next day, walked to school with Kayla and Kaylee, who are my neighbors. They were with me in _Annie_. They play the maids, homeless people, etc. They're very good. Kayla has leukemia, but that didn't stop her to be in the _Annie_ play at all. I don't know what I do if I ever lose Kayla. We're very, very close like sisters even though Kristy's been like a sister to me for a long time and she still is when Dawn became my stepsister. Kaylee is also like a sister to me. We hope nothing would happen to destroy our friendship. At school, Marci came to my locker. She's in Kristy's homeroom, which is right next to mine. We planned to walk to our homeroom everyday, have lunch together often along with Kathi and Patti, and more.

Later, we were sitting together at lunch.

"If I ever see Cokie with Logan, I'll tell her off," said Patti.

"I agree," said Kathi.

"Thank god she's not in our play anymore," said Marci.

"Tell me about it," I agreed.

"At least you told Logan to trust me to be with you," said Marci.

"I know and it is my business if I want to hang-out with you," I added as the other girls agreed. "When I found out he wanted nothing to do with me just because I was starting to be friends with you last time, I told him to grow up."

"Good. I'm glad he did trust you," said Patti.

"Me, too," I smiled.

After school, my other friends are still bugging me about being with Marci.

"Relax," I said. "Dad knows about it and he's starting to improve me to hang-out with Marci."

"Did he knew why you didn't tell him in the first place?" asked Stacey.

I nodded and said, "He still would improve anyway since he knew that Marci is nicer now."

"That's a good thing," said Kristy.

Thank god she, Mallory, and Jessi are the ones who are nice about it.

"Stacey, Claudia, just give Marci a chance to be your friend, too," I said.

"Well, she better not be rude to us," said Claudia.

"How would you know?" I asked.

"You tell her, Mary Anne," said Kristy.

"I just know she would," said Claudia.

"Nothing is going to happen," said Kristy.

"We'll prove it if we have to," I added.

Kristy and I left there. The next day, we did prove that Marci is getting nicer and she did nothing wrong at all.

"We told you so," I said. "I like Patti and Kathi, too."

"Same here with me," said Kristy. "They're way better than Cokie and her sidekicks."

"I agree with you," I said. "It would be nice if Cokie changes, too, but I doubt that's ever going to happen."

"I know," agreed Kristy.

After school, Kathi, Patti, Marci, and I went over to Kathi's house because we were going to hang-out there. Dad already knew about that. At Kathi's house, we did homework together. After that, we had a snack. We even watched a movie. Kathi likes _The Parent Trap_ like Dawn does only she has Lindsey Lohan version. She didn't get the Haylee Hill version yet. It's not that Kathi's parents are divorced, she just likes Lindsey Lohan. I never seen Lindsey Lohan version of _The Parent Trap_, but it was very funny like the Haylee Hill movie.

After we watched the movie, Marci and I went to my house to hang-out there. That was after she dropped off her stuff. At my house, I showed her around since she never been to my house yet.

"I like the farmhouse," said Marci.

"Thanks," I said. "It's over 200 years old."

"Wow," said Marci.

"I know. That's what I said when I visited here with Dawn when she first moved here," I said.

I'm just glad Dad approved Marci so we can hang-out more often. I don't think Marci would go back to her old self.

THE END


End file.
